A custom-made mouthpiece incorporating tongue depressors and elevators to reduce radiation-induced tongue mucositis during carbon-ion radiation therapy for head and neck cancer

Hiroaki Ikawa; Masashi Koto; Daniel K Ebner; Ryo Takagi; Kazuhiko Hayashi; Hiroshi Tsuji; Tadashi Kamada

doi:10.1016/j.prro.2017.10.009

A custom-made mouthpiece incorporating tongue depressors and elevators to reduce radiation-induced tongue mucositis during carbon-ion radiation therapy for head and neck cancer

Pract Radiat Oncol. 2018 Mar-Apr;8(2):e27-e31. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2017.10.009. Epub 2017 Oct 28.

Authors

Hiroaki Ikawa¹, Masashi Koto², Daniel K Ebner³, Ryo Takagi², Kazuhiko Hayashi², Hiroshi Tsuji², Tadashi Kamada²

Affiliations

¹ Hospital of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address: ikawa.hiroaki@qst.go.jp.
² Hospital of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Chiba, Japan.
³ Hospital of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Chiba, Japan; Brown University Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island.

PMID: 29291964
DOI: 10.1016/j.prro.2017.10.009

Abstract

We introduce a custom-made mouthpiece for carbon-ion radiation therapy for head and neck malignancy. The mouthpiece incorporates either a tongue depressor or elevator depending on tumor location. The risk of tongue mucositis may be reduced without compromising therapeutic efficacy through mouthpiece shaping.

MeSH terms

Elevators and Escalators / instrumentation*
Female
Head and Neck Neoplasms / complications*
Head and Neck Neoplasms / radiotherapy
Humans
Male
Mucositis / prevention & control*
Radiation Injuries / etiology*
Radiotherapy Dosage